Multigenerational band We The Kingdom invites listeners into the family of God with their latest song, "Child of Love." The epic jam features vocals and electric guitar by NEEDTOBREATHE's Bear Rinehart. The band had been playing the initial melody during tour rehearsals for nearly a year-and-a-half and finally completed the song when they went into the studio to record their debut LP, Holy Water.
The original album version doesn't include Rinehart, but instead, features a backing Gospel choir. Rinehart was added to the track for the band's deluxe album, which dropped earlier this year. The deluxe edition also includes an iteration of "Child of Love" that features Maverick City Music. "Child of Love" is the third single from the band's acclaimed debut, following two consecutive No. 1 hits–"God So Loved" and "Holy Water."
We The Kingdom–which features Franni Rae Cash Cain, Ed Cash, Scott Cash, Martin Cash, and Andrew Bergthold–says the song just keeps getting better every time they play it live. I've been married for 26 years and we have three young daughters, and their entire catalog of songs really ministers to me and my family.
We the Kingdom have the gift of encouragement, and every single song lifts me up. The band has an infectious and upbeat musical style, layering strong and distinguished vocals over the top of one hooky melody after another. Franni Rae Cash Cain has really emerged as one of the top new female vocalists in Christian music, and she is a great role model for girls.
We the Kingdom's songs have connected with my daughters and their biblically inspired lyrics represent how true happiness and identity comes from our relationship with God. I had the chance to speak with the band about their infectious song "Child of Love."
Please tell me the personal story behind this song.
Ed: Scott is the worship pastor at a church in Franklin, Tennessee. We were having a rehearsal at his church and it was kind of interesting as a lot of our songs started from a jam session where we were messing around and playing music together. I was playing this little guitar riff and Scott joined in and then Martin started a beat on the drums, and Franni started singing a melody without any words at first, and it ended up being the chorus melody for this song. We talked about that music quite a bit when we started making this album. I remember Martin referencing this jam and saying we should write this song.
Martin: It had been at least six months, and sometimes when musical pieces speak to you in a moment, they won't leave you alone.
Franni: The song celebrates every believer's birthright in Christ. I think the lyric was 'Child of God' at first, but I never heard it that way, I always heard it as 'Child of Love.' So it's kind of taken on a new meaning for me to understand that I'm a child of God the Father, and He is love. I think sometimes I tend to think of God as an angry God who wants me to do everything perfectly all the time; and that's been my tendency growing up to view God, the Father, that way.
God has shown me that He is a loving Father, and I'm His daughter. Every time I sing this song, it takes it a step further than I'm a child of God. We have preconceived ideas of who God is, and some of them are incorrect. We need to know that He is a loving Father and there is nothing we can do to change His love for us. It's been rocking my world.
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
John 1:12 (NIV): "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
1 John 3:1 (NLT): "See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know Him."
Galatians 5:13-14 (ESV): "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT): "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."
1 Peter 2:9-10 (MSG): "But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you--from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted."
1 John 4:18 (NKJV): "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
Psalm 33:3 (VOICE): "Sing to Him a new song; play each the best way you can, and don't be afraid to be bold with your joyful feelings."
What is the takeaway message?
Franni: This song has helped renew my understanding of who He really is as such a loving Father, and so I'm just excited about how this song is going to speak to other people and hopefully communicate God's love to them. There's a lot of songs that sing about being a child of God, but when you think about how God is love, and when it says, "love is patient, love is kind," it means God is patient and God is kind. God lives inside of me. And He gives me the right to be His child and live in His love and express His love to others.
Scott: I met a woman today at the airport, and she was talking about her grown kids and how she is a believer, but she's concerned that her kids aren't believers. She was saying it was her fault. She had shame and sadness about her kids. God's grace is so much bigger than our shame. His love is so much bigger and don't see His love for you tarnished because of your failures. The bridge of the song talks about how nothing can separate us from God's love. That's the thesis of the song. All these things are beautiful, talking about who we are in Jesus, and if we walked out each day in the celebration and freedom of living in God's love, that's our hope for this song.
Martin: In the chorus, the lyrics, "I'm gonna shout about it," sometimes we aren't in a place where we may be able to at the moment but that it's something that I'm going to do as part of the sanctification process. In the second verse, it talks about how we look for Jesus in a positive context, but a lot of time we find Him in our negative circumstances and if you're not necessarily currently in a joyful place, you can sing to your future self that you're going to shout about it, once you get through the night. There's no way you can whisper but you need to shout about it when joy comes in the morning.
Lyrics:
I was walking the wayside
Lost on a lonely road
I was chasing the high life
Tryin' to satisfy my soul
All the lies I believed in
Left me crying like the rain
Then I saw lightning from Heaven
And I've never been the same
I'm gonna climb a mountain
I'm gonna shout about it
I am a child of love
I found a world of freedom
I found a friend in Jesus
I am a child of love
I've felt the sting of the fire
But I saw You in the flames
Just when I thought it was over
You broke me out of the grave
Nothing can change the way
You love me
Nothing can change the way
I belong to You
Yes I do
Nothing can separate
I'm gonna climb a mountain
I am a child of love
I found a world of freedom
I am a child of love
Closing Thoughts
After repeated listens, the songs on Holy Water get deeper with comforting messages of the Bible that God is love, and we love because He first loved us. You can have joy and worship loudly about the love of God in your life. When you've encountered the love of God, you won't be the same. "Child of Love" celebrates the freedom we are promised in God's Holy Word. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Christians are new creations on the inside. God wants us to believe in the freedom that we have in the cross of Jesus. We're free from our fears, addictions, insecurities, and perfectionism. Jesus came to die for us so that we can truly live in Him.
Jesus died on the cross to set us free from the battle of our minds, from sin and death. And, He wants us to have abundant life in Him. What a wonderful, encouraging truth. God knows us intimately. And, because of what Jesus did on the cross, He sees us as holy, righteous, redeemed, chosen, fully known, and forgiven--no matter what you've done.
If you've put all your hope and trust in Jesus, there's nothing that can separate you from His love. If you think about the type of faith we're called to have as believers, it is described as the faith of a mustard seed. "Child of Love" is an expression of what it means to accept that God never leaves or forsakes us as His followers. He's all we need.
God explains love in 1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us." God's love was given at an outrageous cost: the life of His only begotten son. Love God--because He first loved you. And love others unconditionally. Have joy and worship loudly about the love of God in your life. His grace takes away anxiety, guilt, and shame. Know that being His is enough. In the stirring lyrics and singing of this song, I hear a sincere yearning for the Lord. A thankfulness for God's mercy and grace. This song is a great reminder of the kind of heart we should have both as people valued by God and as Christians who can communicate our value to other people.
Jesus is the answer to all that we want and need. We're all in need of God to fix our beautiful messes in some way. The beauty of grace is that it's freely given, not something we deserve or earn. The Holy Spirit gives us a new life. We don't have to live anymore with guilt, fears, or worries. We're born again. Our old life is dead. Believing the words of this song is a great way to work on the disciplines of self-examination and prayer. Faith is when we are empty of ourselves and filled with Him and His Holy Spirit. I can't get enough of the worshipful chorus, "I'm gonna climb a mountain/I'm gonna shout about it/I am a child of love/I found a world of freedom/I found a friend in Jesus/I am a child of love." Amen to that.
NRT lead contributor Kevin Davis is a longtime fan of Christian music, an avid music collector, and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters.
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